Farming Australia The backbone of the nation

So many of us feel dependant on the large super markets for our every day needs, rarely stopping to realise that, in fact, we are really depending on those great families, far removed from the cities, the farmers, power generators, earth movers, miners, rail roaders, dam and pipeline constructors and so many other important people out there, who go about their duties for us, largely unnoticed.

At the time this photo was taken on the Darling Downs in Queensland, Australia, this John Deere machine was one of the most modern and productive. The picker is really a factory on wheels, as the cotton and some stalk all pass into the machine at speed. We can observe the separated cotton in the left hand bin while the spinning beater will spread the waste stalks and husks behind the picker. The many clever steel picking fingers are kept slightly moist as they rotate and spin. On machines of today, the operator has an air conditioned cabin with filtered air to remove dust as happier operators are better producers. Music and UHF two way radio also assist on todays four row cotton pickers where cabin noise is much reduced.